Tag: portraits

Hội An’s golden buildings make a glowing backdrop framing the people who bring life to the historic city. In the meandering Old Town, shopkeepers sweep doorframes and the smells of cooking — braised pork, fresh chili, basil, star anise and lime — permeate through the air. Silk lanterns of sky-blue, fuchsia and lavender span archways and sway in the gentle breeze as tourists laugh and chat in open-air cafes.

Hội An’s economic climb and fall as an affluent sea port froze its architecture in time.

It’s easy to imagine Hội An as it would have been in the 16th century. As a bustling stop along the Silk Road — known then as Hai Pho, or, “seaside town” — the city’s winding streets bedecked with colourful lanterns would have been filled with travellers from across the seven seas.